Apparatus for parlor-croquet



Warren lraras WILLIAM s. MEssiNGnR, on

l-OXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR PARLOR-CROQU ET.

Specilication forming-part of Letters Patent No. 55,139, dated May 29,1`866.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Massin GER, ot' Roxbury, in the colui ty of Norfolk and State of Massacl'iusetts, have invented an lmproved Parlor-Croquet, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this speciticatiou, in which-- Figure l is a view of iuy improved parlorcroquet applied to the top ot' an ordinary dining-table. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the same on the line w x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of a wicket constructed ou my improved plan. Fig. 4 is a view of one of the stakes with its socket; Fig. 5, detail showing a'portion of the under side ofthe clot-h which covers the table.

rlhe game of croquet, ordinarily played out of doors on'the grass, has been arranged for the house on a table into which the wire wickets and stakes were iirmly driven, the spring of which caused the balls, on striking them, to rebound and roll at random, so that the shots of the player could not be depended upon, which is not the case where the wickets and stakes are driven into the ground. The surface of the table has also been covered with cloth stretched tightly over it, forming a hard surface, on which the balls rolled about too freely, not representing the gaine as played on the grass. A table sufficiently large to make the game one of interest also occupies considerable space in a room, aud cannot be furnished at a sufficiently low price.

My invention has for its object to overcome these dificulties and to enable the game to be readily set up ou any ordinary table of the required size; and it consists in a cloth perfo- 1ated to receive sockets for the wickets and sta-kes, the cloth being' laid over the table (ou which a blanket or other suitable article is spread) and held in place by a suitable frame placed over it, which alsoserves to keep the. balls from rolling off the ta-ble.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed -to describe the manner iu which I have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents the top of an ordinary dining-table, over which is spread a blanket or other similar article, a, to make the surface correspond as nearly as possible to the yielding surface of the ground.

Over this is laid the cloth B, which is held down by inea-ns of a frame, C, which is made of wood and jointed, so that it can be taken apart when removed from the table. The strips or cleats b c, attached to the sides of the frame C, project down over the edge of the table and serve to steady and hold it in place. The frame also serves to prevent the balls from rolling off the table.

rlhe cloth B is perforated in the required places for the reception of the wicket-sockets D and stake-sockets E. rlhe socket D (seen detached in Fig. 3) is formed of a iiat piece of tin or other metal, d, from which project, at thel required distance apart, two short tubes, c, into which are fitted the ends of the wire wickets f, the liat portion d lying between the blanket a and the cloth B, as seen in Fig. 2, while the tubes c project im'through the cloth to receive the wickets. as seen in Fig. 1. The socket E is formed of a dat piece, g, from which projects a short tube, It, to receive the stake t, as seen in Figzl. The tlat portions of these sockets are of such a width that the cloth B, held by theframc C, will keep them in place, while they will yield without springing on a ball strikinga wicket or stake, thus preventing the ball from rebounding and rolling at random over the table.

The cloth is strengthened and prevented from tearing where it is perforated for the sockets by pasting small pieces of parchment or other suitable material, j, on its under side, as seen in Fig. 5, and the cloth is perforated with several series of holes, as seen in Fig. 1, to allow the wickets to be arranged for different games or for different-sized wickets tobe used.

Vhen itis required to put away the game it is simply necessary to raise the frame C and take it apart. In the full size each piece of the frame would be hinged, so that itcan be packed i a small compass. The wickets and stakes a e then withdrawn from theirv sockets and tl e sockets removed from the clothB, which is then folded up compactly and placed in the box, together with the frame, wickets, sockets, stakes, &c.

It will thus be seen that the cloth, with its wickets, Ste., may be applied to an extensionl or other-.large table, which is to be found in every household, and the necessity of having a table specially adapted for the game is avoided, while the game more closely imitates that played on the grass than any other house- D or E, in combination with the cloth B, perhold game yet produced, on account of the forated to receive them, substantially as set peculiar adaptation of the wickets and sta-kes forth.

to the cloth and the soft materia-l placed be- 2. The perforated cloth B and frame O, in neath the cloth, so as to make its surface combination with the wickets f and stakes i slightly yielding. The game as above deand theirremovable soeketsDand E,suhsta.n

scribed can also be furnished at :t very inodtiztlly as described.

crate oost. WM. S. MESSINGER. What I claim as my invention, and desire Witnesses: to secure by Letters Patent, is- P. E. TESCHEMAOHER,

y1. The wickets f or stakes z', with their sockets N. STEARNS. 

